


Guardians of Seoul

by rowanZ



Category: hogwarts - Fandom, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Auror Min Yoongi | Suga, Aurors, Cat Min Yoongi | Suga, F/M, Family, Gryffindor Kim Namjoon | RM, Gryffindor Kim Seokjin | Jin, Hufflepuff Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, I'm Bad At Tagging, Magic, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries, Muggle Kim Taehyung | V, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Ravenclaw Jeon Jungkook, Shop Assistant Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Shopkeeper Kim Namjoon | RM, Shopkeeper Kim Seokjin | Jin, Slytherin Min Yoongi | Suga, Squib Park Jimin, Squib Park Jimin (BTS), Student Kim Taehyung | V, Student Park Jimin, Student Park Jimin (BTS), Underling Jeon Jungkook, University Student Kim Taehyung | V, University Student Park Jimin, University Student Park Jimin (BTS), minor character injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-06-14 14:24:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15390687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowanZ/pseuds/rowanZ
Summary: All Sera wanted to be was normal. Well, as normal as one could be as a witch from one of the most respected magical families in Korea. You know, bickering with Yoongi, eating Seokjin's food, working a 9-to-5 office job to pay the bills... that kind of normal.But no... she had to carry the Guardian mark.She had to be born in Dreaded October.She had to be the last Guardian Candidate of her generation.Sera just wanted to be normal, but Fate had a different plan for her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "Write what you want to read", they said. Hmppfhh. Easier said than done. English isn't my first language, and this has not been beta'd, so please don't yell at me too loudly (or harshly!). More notes at the end~

The bell tinkled, signalling a customer entering the shop.

“Hello! Welcome to the Empo- oh, it’s you.” Jung Hoseok’s face fell when he saw the figure who was shaking the cold out of her clothes.

Song Sera laughed. “Well, hello to you, too, Hoseokie! Why don’t I get a warm ‘Emporium’ welcome? Why are you discriminating among your customers?”

“Well, if said customer comes in every week asking ME for nasty icky stuff, said customer doesn’t deserve my warm welcome.” Hoseok turned his dainty nose up at Sera. Sera hid a smile behind her hand. She harboured an insane urge to pinch the bridge of Hoseok’s too perfect nose. “How can I help you this week, noona?”

“I’d like some snake venom, century rose oil and pressed tuberose please.”

Hoseok scrunched his nose. “Snake venom, ugh. Noona, you know I really can’t stand icky stuff. And tuberose? That flower is spooky.”

“Then get the rose oil, then. Am pretty sure that at least isn’t creepy enough for you. Just point me in the right direction. I can get the snake venom and tuberose myself.”

“You’ll do no such thing. We at the Emporium pride ourselves in serving our customers to the best of our ability.” Hoseok replied primly, as he led Sera deeper into the store. “Besides, the hyungs are around. They can get all the nasty stuff for you.”

Figures.

They entered through a small side door, leading into a room that logically shouldn’t exist in a store as small as the Emporium. It reminded Sera of the Beast’s library in Beauty and the Beast, except instead of books, there were rows and rows of glass jars filled with the weirdest things. A broad-shouldered young man was standing close to a ladder near one of the shelves, hands on his hips as he watched another young man with silvery-blue hair reach for a glass jar on one of the upper shelves.

“No, no, no, Yoongi hyung, it’s the third jar on your right. That’s the SECOND jar on your right.” A deep voice called out from the middle of the room. Sera peeked from behind Hoseok to spy a third young man, with ash-brown hair, wearing glasses, watching Min Yoongi reach for the jar from behind an ancient looking computer. “That’s the cured frog skin. We want the cured TOAD skin.”

“Toad skin, frog skin, it’s all amphibians.” Yoongi grumbled, his gravelly voice wafting down to his audience below. He stretched his hand. “I can’t reach the damn jar. Just substitute it with frog skin in the spell, Namjoon-ah.”

Kim Namjoon’s scandalized expression was too comical, Sera had to giggle. That attracted the attention of all 3 men.

Hoseok cleared his throat. “Our customer here needs some icky stuff, too.”

“Sera! Hello!” Kim Seokjin beamed at her, taking his eyes off of Yoongi. “Hold on a sec, let us get this stuff for Namjoon’s spell and we’ll attend to you. Hobi-ya, that’s not very nice.”

Yoongi had apparently given up on reaching for the jar and was summoning it instead. Sera watched as the jar floated into the man’s outstretched hands. “Yeah, Hobi. That’s not very nice. Sera’s here so often she practically pays your salary.”

“Hyung.” Namjoon groaned. “You know you’re not supposed to be using magic. You’re still in recovery!”

Yoongi shrugged, apparently giving up on climbing down the ladder and floated down instead. “I’ve got you and Jin hyung around. You guys can always carry me if I collapse in exhaustion.”  

“That’s not the point!”

Sera cleared her throat. “Yeah, um, I just need like 3 things and I’ll be out of here double-quick.” she raised an eyebrow at Yoongi. "It's good to see you making a speedy recovery, Yoongi."

He arched an eyebrow right back at her. "It's easy to make a speedy recovery when your refrigerator has more than just ramyun in it." 

Sera wondered if she should seal a certain window when she gets home today.

Namjoon tilted his head in confusion. "People don't keep ramyun in fridges, hyung." 

"That's not the point, Joon-ah." 

"But you just said-" 

“Stop it you two, you’re making Sera uncomfortable.” Seokjin admonished Yoongi and Namjoon. Sera could’ve sworn Hoseok was mumbling something that sounded very much like ‘not bloody likely’ under his breath while maintaining that sunshiny smile.

“What do you need, Sera?”

“Some snake venom, century rose oil and pressed tuberose please.”

Namjoon looked up the location of the items on the computer, and programmed the ladder to the correct position. Hoseok stood guard as Seokjin climbed up, based on Namjoon’s instructions. He’d got up from his terminal and stood beside her, watching as his cousin effortlessly plucked the correct jars.

Yoongi mumbled indistinctly under his breath. Something about not trusting men with long arms.

“Defensive spells? Are you planning on a duel soon, noona?”

Sera sighed internally. Trust Namjoon – one of the most brilliant minds in the magical community – to catch on to the spell Sera was about to attempt.

“No, but… it’s almost October. You know what that means.” Sera shifted her weight on her foot uncomfortably under Namjoon’s intense gaze.

“Yeah, I just… wow, noona. I wish I could help, somehow. I mean… if I’m reading it right. The spell that I think you wanna try out.” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "That's some pretty advanced spell work involved, but I'm sure you've discussed this with your mentor." 

Sera shrugged. Oh, yeah, that... she knew she'd forgotten something...

Even though the magical community in Seoul was pretty large, people still gravitate towards the Emporium for every little thing that they needed. The Kim family have been running the store for as long as anyone could remember and their extensive network ensured that they could get their hands on whatever little thing their customer needed.

Except for unicorn hair. No one’s seen a unicorn in ages.

And, oh, phoenix feathers. They’re endangered, you know.

As part of the River Song family, Sera’s parents made sure their kids knew their way in and out of the various magical establishments around Seoul. Everyone knew that the River Songs had a heavy burden to bear. A centuries old curse that saved a kingdom, wiped out a generation and doomed a family.

Doomed to fight a battle against the Enemy every decade. Doomed to watch as the Enemy goes after the Guardians and Guardian Candidates, ensuring that the River Songs will never have enough Guardians to be considered a serious threat to the Enemy. Doomed to watch as members of their clan be respected, yet somewhat ostracized.

Doom and gloom. Yeap, they're just full of good cheer, the River Songs.

Yes, the River Songs carry a heavy burden as Guardians of Seoul. It was once a position that many coveted, a position that perhaps was too desirable, resulting in blood oaths and unspeakable curses.

It really didn’t help that people keep expecting her to get killed at any time by the Enemy ever since she turned 21. But Sera figured that the Enemy had bigger fish to fry. Some of her other cousins fit the Guardian image more. Were more powerful and adept at magic than bookish, shy Sera. And had multiple attempts on their lives, while Sera managed to live life quite uneventfully. Even if she was the only River Song to be born in October – the month of the curse’s anniversary - in recent memory.

It probably helped that Sera went to school far away from Seoul, and was a relative unknown, even among her clan members. Mahoutokoro in Japan for her early education, and then off to Hogwarts in the UK, where she found herself more often than not helping a reluctant Yoongi bail Seokjin, Namjoon and Hoseok out of their scrapes. The four Korean boys had always gently prodded Sera to socialize more, despite her shy ways. She had to admit that bailing them out of their scrapes were amongst her more memorable moments at school.

“Well, if you need help or a safe environment to work on your spells, our doors are always open. You just have to say the word.”

“Thanks, Nams, that means a lot to me.”

“Hey,” Namjoon flashed his dimples at her. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Are we friends with a River Song now?” Yoongi interjected. It was a long-standing joke of theirs, stemming from the fact that when they were in school, Yoongi was reluctant to call Seokjin, Namjoon, and Hoseok his friends, while Song Sera of the River Songs was famous for being a loner.

“If we’re not friends, then what would you call our relationship with Sera, hyung?”

“Unfortunate classmates? Merchant and customer? Business transaction?”

“How impersonal.” Seokjin piped in. “And inaccurate for you, Yoongi, since you don’t work here. But since you insist on spending time here, make yourself useful and pack a vial of this snake venom for Sera.” He shoved the glass jar of cloudy substance into Yoongi’s hands.

Yoongi’s face scrunched up in distaste. “Why meee? I’m supposed to be in recovery!”

“We just watched you float down from 10 feet high, I think you’re done recovering from your attack. Besides, poisons and the Dark Arts are your thing. Also, Hobi is getting sick just from being near the snake venom jar.”

There was a definite darkening of Yoongi’s aura as he walked away. Namjoon dragged a green-looking Hoseok to help him with his spell – Sera wasn’t sure that was going to help Hobi, if cured toad’s skin was one of the ingredients – while she followed Seokjin to get her flower-based items.

“How are you holding up, Sera? I heard you and Joonie talking.” Seokjin smiled over his shoulder as they moved to another part of the Emporium. Sera tried to act like she wasn’t staring at Seokjin’s broad shoulders. Kim Seokjin had the face of an angel and a body that was a work of art. Sera had never met anyone who didn’t see cherry blossoms fall the first time they laid eyes on the handsome magical merchant.

It really wasn’t rocket science to figure out why. Seokjin’s mother had Veela ancestry. And although Sera had never known Seokjin to wield Veela magic, his Veela genes probably had a hand in making him pretty darn irresistible.

No wonder The Emporium’s business was booming.

“Okay, I guess. I’m trying to prepare as much as I can, oppa, as best as I can. But it’s difficult work, and… well, I’m not as gifted as Namjoon or Yoongi…”

“Well,” Seokjin stopped at a wide table full of weird apparatus that reminded Sera of the Potions classroom back at Hogwarts. “If it’s potions you need, you know Yoongi and Namjoon can always help you out with that. I can get Hobi to pop in and test out your warding barriers. But spellcasting is kinda iffy since it’s so personalized, but honestly, the guys and I are always on-board if you need a hand with that, too. You just need to say the word.”

Seokjin smiled at Sera’s thoughtful expression as he started measuring liquids. “You know Yoongi and his tsundere ways. If he was in better condition, am sure he’d grump his way into somehow camping out in your living room.” he regarded her over a stoppered vial. "You do realize that the reason he's still living with us is because I feed him proper food, right?" 

"Ramyun is proper food!"

Seokjin snorted. "Sure. If you're a struggling university student. Even then... no." Seokjin smiled affectionately. " Anyway... Yoongi. He does care, you know... in his own way. Don't be too hard on him, yeah? He's kicking himself for getting majorly hurt so close to October. You know he'd do anything for you." 

Sera simply nodded. She knew Yoongi’s tsundere ways well, all right. She still harboured a teensy-weensy tiny crush on the Metamorphmagus who changes his hair colour at will. It didn’t help that as an Animagus, Yoongi would morph into a very cute cat. Sera still remembered the first time she discovered Yoongi was an Animagus. She had found the cat sleeping by the door to the Ravenclaw common room and was immediately charmed by it, so much so that she brought it in – against all school rules – and fell asleep stroking the cat. A few hours later there was a loud thud and a sheepish Yoongi lay on the floor, naked except for her blanket.

To this day both Yoongi and Sera couldn’t figure out why none of them was yelling or panicking, and were both acting like it was perfectly normal to find an uninvited, naked classmate on your dorm floor.

Sera had gotten used to having Yoongi pop up in cat form next to her door, no matter where in the world she was. The Songs were vacationing in Switzerland when there was a scratch and a meow at her door. Next thing she knew, cat Yoongi had sauntered in and made himself comfortable on her hotel bed.

It was like Yoongi had a homing beacon on her. Her family had stopped questioning it after Yoongi followed her down to breakfast one morning after her first year, still yawning and wearing her clothes. Apparently, centuries ago, the Min family did this quite often in the Royal Courts, and the Guardians of Seoul were most often than not their favourite humans.

Not that Yoongi the grumpy human would ever admit that Sera was his favourite whatever. He still threatens to turn Hoseok into an armchair for being too loud, when everyone knows that Min Yoongi would flip the world if anyone even as much made Jung Hoseok sad.

“Yeah. Yoongi’s a good friend. I know, oppa. I know.”

Seokjin’s responding smile was gentle, but his expression was worried.

Too many things happening all at once, so near to October.

*******

“Sure we can’t tempt you to stay for tea?” Seokjin smiled, as he handed Sera her parcel. “I made proper scones.”

Sera shook her head with a smile. “Thanks oppa, but I have a lot of research to do. Maybe next time.”

“If you need anything, noona, just text me, okay?” Namjoon smiled gently at her from behind the counter. “I’m serious. You can call us anytime.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Nams.” Sera smiled back, only to be engulfed in a thorough bear hug by Hoseok. The warmth from his body somehow seeped through her clothes, making Sera feel warm and toasty. Just like him. “I worry about you, noona.” Hoseok murmured as he fixed her scarf. “I know it’s useless to do so, and bar Yoongi hyung, you’re probably the most well-equipped of all of us to have to do this, but I worry about you.”

Sera smiled at the younger man. He was too loud, too lively, too bright for her, but Hoseok always reminded her of home. “It’s nice to know that people worry about me, Hobi. I appreciate that. It’s still September. You’re coming to test my wards, right?”

Hoseok nodded, blowing on Sera’s hands. Hoseok was an adept of Hearth Magic, and that little gesture meant that Sera would have warm hands until she reached home. Sera was glad. She wasn’t a fan of the cold.

“I’ll call you to set an appointment soon.”

“Ya Song Sera, let me walk you home.” Yoongi suddenly popped up beside her as she stepped unto the sidewalk. Sera squinted at the young man next to her.

“Uhh, you don’t have to do that, Yoongi, it’s still light out, I can get home just fine.”

“I insist.”

Sera shrugged. It really wasn’t that far - just a few stops away by train – but Sera learned long ago that Min Yoongi marched to his own tune.

Besides, seeing how October was coming up and she was getting the heebie-jeebies, it didn’t hurt to have an Auror walk you home. Even if he was still on sick leave and looked pale as a ghost. What she didn’t agree to was the literal walking instead of taking the subway.

“C’mon, the fresh air will do you good.”

“Uhh… I kinda like being unhealthy right about now.” Sera grumbled as Yoongi tugged at her sleeves.

“So how long is your leave for?”

“Until November 2nd.” He yawned. “Why? Need a roommate?”

Sera snorted. “No. Like that has ever stopped you before, though.”

“Your boyfriend’s not gonna like it when he finds me curled up on your couch.”

“You think you’re so sly. You know very well I don’t date.”

Yoongi grinned that gummy grin of his. “Oops.” He shrugged. “Who knows? A lot could’ve changed since I saw you last. What was it, 2 months ago? Heh. You know you’re ALLOWED to date, right? No one said Guardians – or Guardian Candidates – can’t date. Your cousin Joongki broke hearts left, right and center.”

“My cousin Joongki,” Sera sighed. “Was voted one of Korea’s 50 most handsome wizard and graduated with top marks from Mahoutokoro. I’d be surprised if he DIDN’T date.”

“My point being that you could stand to live a little, Sera. You’re still so shy. It seems to be getting worse, since school.”

“I know, I know. It’s just… I don’t like talking needlessly. Making small talk. I find it a chore. I have everyone that I need, though? Family, friends. I have you and Namjoon and Hobi and Jin oppa, too.”

“I don’t want you to be lonely Sera. You don’t have to be lonely. I don’t want you to think that you’re not gonna survive your Guardian candidacy, so you don’t want to start relationships.” Yoongi huffed.

“I don’t want you to live like you’re gonna die soon. That’s not living.”

There. There it was. Yoongi had said it.

And truth is, Sera couldn’t even deny it.

Ever since she’d turned 21, Sera had concluded that she might very well die before she reached 30.  It was a few days after her cousin Hyena’s attack – a Guardian candidate who was much stronger and more adept than her – and it was at her wake that Sera realized that when the Enemy comes for her, she might not survive. Sera was startled to realize that subconsciously, she had never made any plans beyond the age of 30. It was like somewhere at the back of her mind, Sera had accepted the fact that she was probably going to die young.

And Yoongi – observant Yoongi – had picked up on that.

Sera reached for the young Auror, squeezing his arm. “Thank you for caring, Yoongs.”

Yoongi shook his head. “That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but okay. I can tell when you’re done discussing things.”

Sera chuckled. Yoongi really did know her best.

*******

Yoongi waited patiently as Sera keyed in her door access code. He was tentatively poking something in front of him, and for a moment the protective wards surrounding her apartment shimmered purple. He laughed.

“Hoseok told me you had new wards up to replace the old one we put up but… you programmed it to let me through, didn’t you? Awww. Did you miss cat Yoongi? Is 2 months apart too long for you?”

“Shut up.” Sera’s ears burned. She wasn’t about to admit to Yoongi that her wards would allow him, Namjoon, Hoseok and Seokjin through, while keeping other magical beings out. The wards wouldn’t hurt muggles, as well. It was designed to protect her from magical attacks. Muggles can deal with her top-notch home alarm system instead.

She half-turned. “You wanna come in for ramyun?”

He smirked. “RAMYUN ramyun? Or… you know….” Yoongi made quote marks “RAMYUN ramyun.”

“Oh, God, no. Please don’t be gross.”

That smirk didn’t leave his lips. “Why have ramyun when I have scones waiting for me at the shop? Nahh. You go ahead. I don’t want to distract you from your experiments.”

“Thanks for walking me home, Yoongs.”

“Hmm. Stop being sappy and lock the door, dammit. I need my scones.”

She managed to stick out her tongue at him as the door swung close.

Yoongi smiled softly at the closed door. Sera was definitely on his ‘Favourite People’ list.

She was also on his ‘Too Stubborn For Their Own Good’ list.

But he was one to talk. It was glaringly obvious how similar they both were. Except Sera cared what people think, and Yoongi really didn’t give a damn.

He drew in a deep breath and reached out towards the wards, eyes narrowed in concentration. The palm of his hands stung a little as it made contact, then quietened to a low thrum. Yoongi recited a warding spell, over and over. Silver-white strands shot out from his palms, slowly turning the purple barrier into a mix of purple and silver-white.

He thought he could hear a small shriek when his protective spell started activating.

Whoops. Perhaps he should’ve warned Sera beforehand. She would’ve felt the two spells melding.

Yoongi took a shaky step back, breathing hard, perspiring. He watched as the purple-silver-white barrier slowly became invisible.

Whoa, okay. So maybe he wasn’t as strong as he thought. Hoseok would be nagging at him for overtaxing himself, while Seokjin would probably manhandle him and tuck him into bed straightaway. But really, what Yoongi would hate most is having Namjoon going all I-told-you-so on him.

He picked the worst time to get injured in that black market phoenix feathers smuggling bust. Sigh.

Sorry, Sera. The most I can do is amp up your wards. Not in any condition to do more.

Yoongi’s phone chimed as soon as he stepped out of the building.

   


            **QueSera**

            You idiot.

   


Yoongi grinned.

   


            **Min Suga**

            You’re welcome.

   


He inhaled deeply before exhaling in a whoosh.

There. That niggling feeling of being watched.

Yoongi whipped around, focusing in the direction he felt that watchful gaze was coming from. But of course, the alley was empty, save for a stray breeze. He frowned. He really should investigate, especially since part of the reason why he accompanied Sera home was because Hoseok had said he felt like he was being watched when he had run deliveries for Sera the week before.

But the protective spell had winded him, and whoever it was that was watching them didn’t seem to be making a move. So it should still be safe… until October, at least. Besides, if anyone tries to force through the barrier, Yoongi would be alerted as well.

Not liking the situation he was in, but having no choice, Yoongi sighed resignedly and whistled to himself as he trudged back to the Emporium, daydreaming of hot buttered-scones and steaming mugs of tea.

*******

The hooded figure exhaled as he watched the broad-shouldered young man with silvery-blue hair whistle and walked away. There was a bittersweet taste in his mouth when he recognized the song – Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve.

In his mind he saw a much younger Min Yoongi, decked in Slytherin colours and cheering wildly, his cherry blossom pink hair bouncing about, mouth open wide showing off his trademark gummy smile, ignoring the dirty looks and hissing of his fellow House mates as he essentially celebrated their opponents’ win in Quidditch over his own House.

   


_“Kid, you did it! You caught the Golden Snitch in record time, too! Ravenclaw wins the Quidditch Cup!” Yoongi thundered into the microphone, forgetting his official duties as commentator. He was also – in his excited state – unknowingly speaking in Korean._

_“I’m so proud of you!”_

   


The hooded figure shook the memory away. That was a lifetime ago. A different time, a different life.

A different Min Yoongi.

A different me.

A few minutes later he stood outside an unassuming door, chanting a revealing spell over and over again. In no time at all, a protective barrier emerged. The hooded figure gently blew at it, delicate ice crystals forming. It was a simple and unobtrusive spell to see how strong the wards were, and was too delicate to bother anyone synced to it. He grimaced as he watched his ice crystals evaporate instantly. The barrier was strong. Too strong.

A cruel smile twisted his lips.

Well… we’ll see how well it holds up when October rolls by.

*******


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> October was drawing near, and it was getting more difficult to ignore the fact that this year, the air was different.
> 
> Sera wonders why it feels like everything's resting on her shoulders. 
> 
> Plus, the gang tries out this spell experiment of Namjoon's.

Sera sighed as she reached for her phone. The Minion’s ‘Banana Song’ was driving her crazy.

“Oppa.” She grumbled sleepily into her phone, not bothering to check caller ID. Only one person in the world was annoying enough to mess with her phone and set that annoying song as an annoying ringtone.

Her annoying Mentor, of course.

Song Joongki’s annoying deep chuckle never failed to warm Sera’s heart, though.

Annoyingly.

“Rise and shine, Candidate! The Elders wants me to drag you to investigate something.”

“What time is it?”

“6am.”

“Oppa, even the sun isn’t up yet.”

“I don’t profess to know what time Jung Hoseok wakes up,” Sera rolled her eyes at the lame joke. Anyone who shopped at Emporium knew Hoseok’s bright personality well, earning him the nickname ‘Sunshine’. “But I can see sunlight. So yeah, sun is already up. Besides, we have a long hike in front of us.”

“H-hike? At this hour? In this weather?” yeah, that woke Sera up real fast.

Joongki laughed cheerfully. “Pick you up in half an hour!”

That man isn’t human. No human should be that cheerful at this hour.

Sera groaned. She fell back face first unto her bed.

*******

“You are so out of shape, it’s ridiculous.” Joongki shook his head as Sera huffed and puffed behind him. “You should work out more! And why on Earth are you wearing gloves? It’s fall, not winter.”

“I'm a mammal, I get cold easily.” Sera grumbled. “This is why I wanted to be a Librarian instead of a Guardian, oppa. I like a sedentary lifestyle. I have no issues being roly-poly instead of slim and svelte. Besides, books don’t try to kill you.”

“You’re kidding me, right? Hogwarts literally has the Monster Book of Monsters in its syllabus.”

“It’s just misunderstood! You just have to show it some loving!”

Joongki shuddered. “No thanks. I’ll reserve my loving for humans.”

“Are we there yet? I’m tiredddd…”

Joongki surveyed the area, eyes searching. “The Elders’ are going to have my head for not making you exercise more. The site should be somewhere close, though.”

“What are we looking for, again?”

“You’ll know it when you see it.” He glanced back at her. “Keep your head up. Something’s in the air, and it’s not lack of oxygen on your part.”

Sera was just about to let loose a snarky reply when she caught a whiff of… something. There was something wrong with the air. The pleasant, woodsy smell of the forest in fall was gone, replaced by something that smelled sharp like ozone.

Joongki left the marked path and headed further into the forest. Sera had no choice but to follow, glancing behind now and then until she couldn’t see the hiking path at all. Belatedly she wondered if they should’ve made like Hansel and Gretel and leave a trail to get back to civilization.

Joongki wasn't leading them to some wicked witch's cottage to be eaten up, is he?

Oh, wait. WE'RE the witches. Ha.

Sera shook her head. Some muggle fairytales really do mess with your head.

"Candidate, why are you lagging behind? Come on, Sera, we don't have all day!" 

Sera grumbled as she hurried to catch up. Damn his long legs.

Joongki slowed as the smell became stronger, and Sera’s eyes widened as they came to a stop. In front of them, in a makeshift stone circle, were some bushes and saplings, totally devoid of colour. It looked like the bushes and saplings were burnt, and had turned to ash but did not crumble. Like someone had pencil drawn nature on white paper and forgot to colour it in. Even the ground – mostly brown with decaying leaves of various hues at this time of the year – was totally devoid of colour.

It was the oddest thing. Sera had never seen anything like it.

The stone circle itself wasn’t large – Sera reckoned it was as big as those round tables at weddings where you could seat 10 people, easy – but the lack of colour was disturbing. It reminded Sera too much of A-Ha’s ‘Take On Me’ music video.

“Don’t touch anything.” Joongki warned as Sera ambled closer. “I’m good, but I can’t bring people back from the dead.”

“Is that why the trees are like that? They’re dead?”

“In a fashion, yes.” The older man squatted next to the stone circle, nose scrunched. “This is magic – powerful dark magic. The negative energy from using the dark arts can change you, unless you get rid of the negative charge somehow.

Looks like someone’s been discharging all that bad mojo into the earth. And by the looks of it, either he’s been using a lot of powerful dark magic, or he’s been using it for some time and discharging it at one go.”

“You’ve come across this before.”

“During my patrols, yes. I’ve only brought you along for the fun stuff, unfortunately – helping the seasons change, checking up on the wildlife. This… this needs more focus. It’s detailed. It needs more care. It’s a major part of my duties. Not everyone’s cut out for the Nature part of Guardianship.” Joongki smiled back at Sera as he produced a leather pouch.

“You got the tuberose?”

Sera handed him some of the pressed tuberose she bought from the Emporium the day before. Joongki held it up to the sun, inspecting the delicate veins on the dried flower.

“Yahhh that Kim Seokjin is a piece of work. He gave you a top grade quality ingredient, when I only get common grade ones. Is it because you guys were in the same year at Hogwarts? That’s favouritism!”

“Nahhh, he’s just nice.”

Sera thought she heard her cousin mutter something along the lines of ‘nice my foot.’ But she couldn’t be sure.

“You’ve displayed a strong Nature affinity. The Elders wanted you to be trained in this, because God knows there aren’t many of us around.” Joongki exhaled. “Granted, it’s not the most flashy aspect of being a Guardian of Seoul, but being more attuned with Nature isn’t half bad. Not everything has to be glamorous.”

“I’ll try my best, oppa.” Sera cut in quickly. Joongki had a tendency to go on a tirade if the mood strikes. And really, she just wanted to get away from this place as quickly as possible. The whole place felt so wrong to her.

Sera followed Joongki’s instructions as they both worked on healing the affected spot. It was difficult work requiring much skill and energy, but Joongki’s calm, authoritative voice helped kept Sera on track. They had rivulets of sweat running down their faces before the first few green shoots appeared, enveloping the dead white plants.

A few minutes later, the affected area looked no different from the surrounding areas. That strong smell of ozone had disappeared.

“We’re not Gods, bringing dead things back to life.” Joongki sighed, wiping his forehead. “The dead remains dead – whether they be plants, animals or humans. What we can do is encourage life – if the surrounding areas have living things, you can encourage them to heal the dead spot. Harness that energy to bring harmony to that area. Which is why Nature Guardians constantly patrol their designated areas.”

“Because dead spots take away living energy, is that it?”

“Something like that.” Joongki smiled. “Every generation, less and less Guardians have an affinity for Nature. Be it in Seoul, Busan... the major Guardianship areas. Some theorize it’s because we have less and less woodland to take care of. But that’s not true. Nature Guardians will always be needed. They bring balance, even in concrete jungles.” He sighed. “It doesn’t help that multiple-affinity Guardians almost never prioritize Nature.

I’m hard on you because we desperately need you, Sera. I hope you understand that.”

“I do. I don’t necessarily like it, but I do understand the need.” Sera shrugged. “I’m just…”

“Worried? About your ceremony being right smack in October?”

“Yeah. Can’t we postpone it to November, somehow?”

Her Mentor shook his head regretfully. “Tradition dictates that the ceremony be held at dawn on the day of your birth. It’s just tough luck that your strongest month happens to be the Enemy’s strongest month, too.”

“Tough luck, or cursed?”

“Tough luck.” Joongki frowned. He placed a hand on Sera’s shoulder. “Hey, I know what people say. Don’t listen to them. There’s 12 months to a year. Nothing weird about being born in October.”

Not weird if you’re a normal human being, but significant if you’re a River Song.

*******

Sera sighed happily as the barista handed over her coffee.

Ah… sweet, sweet caffeine. The muggles’ gift to the human race. Essential for Monday mornings.

A deep voice bidding her good morning almost made her drop her cup.

Namjoon blinked innocently at her as she glared at him while wiping her hand with a wet tissue.

“I swear my clumsiness isn’t contagious.”

Sera snorted.

“What brings you to these here parts? You don’t come here often.” Sera sipped her coffee while Namjoon walked with her to work.

“Meeting at 9 am at the Ministry.” Namjoon shrugged. “Trade stuff. You joining, noona?”

Sera shook her head. She worked in the Human Resource Department of the Ministry of Magic. Trade matters were not part of her job scope.

The Elder Council of Seoul weren’t happy to have their one and only government officer Guardian Candidate toil away doing HR, of all things. Time and again they’ve tried to get Sera into International Relations or even Trade, but Sera wasn’t interested.

Besides, she wasn’t too good with numbers. That was Namjoon’s area. Too bad Namjoon was adamant about staying at Emporium, no matter how many times Seokjin assured him that he’s perfectly capable handling the family business by himself, with help from Hoseok.

Namjoon would’ve made a wonderful diplomat for the Ministry of Magic. Perhaps becoming the Minister himself.

“Anyway, I’m glad I bumped into you. I wanted to discuss that spell you wanted to try out.” Namjoon murmured, as they weaved in and out of the Monday morning muggle and wizarding foot traffic. “You haven’t actually done anything about that, have you, noona?”

Sera almost choked on her coffee. Should she tell Namjoon that she bought the ingredients and promptly stored them away, suddenly losing her nerve? She really had no idea what she was thinking, deluding herself into thinking she could attempt such a powerful defensive spell.

“Umm… no. I’ve been too busy.”

Namjoon nodded thoughtfully. “Well, don’t do anything until we’ve talked, okay? I read some stuff that you might be interested in.”

“Yeah, Joonie, I’m in the habit of brewing spells right in the middle of the HR department.” Sera rolled her eyes. “Gimme a break.”

*******

It was Wednesday before work slowed down enough for Sera to pop over to Emporium.

“Hello! Welcome to the Empo- oh, it’s you.”

"No, seriously, would it kill you to actually greet me like your other customers?" Sera had to laugh at the sudden change in Hoseok's expression. It went from 'cheery business' to 'oh, it's Sera noona again' double quick.

"Probably not. But why risk it?" came Hoseok's easy answer. "Ah, Madam Jang! Is that all? You sure I can't tempt you with some lavender powder? Seokjin hyung's made a fresh batch and they smell absolutely divine..."

As if on cue, Seokjin appeared carrying a basket full of stuff. Sera tried very hard not to look at the customer who was tailing him, figurative hearts in the young woman's eyes.

"Sera! You got off work on time, did you?" he chuckled. "Go on to the back. I'll be right with you after I ring up Jungah-ssi's items."

"Oh, hyung! I was just telling Madam Jang about that lavender powder you just made..."

Well. Seems like the boys were a bit busy.

"Oh, Miss, I'm sorry but do you work here?" a petite lady touched Sera's arm. "I'm trying to find these items, but I just can't seem to get on the right aisle." she waved a list around.

"Let me take a look at that list and we can hunt together." Sera smiled at the older lady who looked relieved. "The aisles can be confusing if you're not that familiar with them."

Might as well make myself useful.

“So what you’re saying is that it becomes some sort of like an insect repellent? Is that it?”

The sun had set by the time there was a lull in customers. They were tucked in a little corner of the Emporium with a perfect view of the front door, in case any customers dropped by. 

“Essentially. But like an insect repellent for The Enemy and his associates. It only lasts for 6 months, but you’ll only need it until February next year, noona.”

“And you’re sure we can meld the spells together? There’s proof of this being used before?” Seokjin’s gaze was piercing.

“With spells it’s never 100% sure, hyung.”

“This isn’t the time for that bullshit, Joon. October is 3 days away AND Sera is due to be a full-fledged Guardian. In October. Why she couldn’t wait a few more days to be born in November I’ll never know. Anyway, we can’t chance it.”

Sera rolled her eyes. The number of times she asked herself that question…

“There’s proof of similar spells. The exact one? You know how the old wizards used to jealously guard their knowledge. We can only make educated guesses. But I’m fairly confident with this solution.

If Sera noona is to be assigned a Nature Guardian like Joongki hyung, this would probably be the best thing for her.”

Seokjin look troubled. He glanced at her.

“It’s your call, Sera.”

Sera watched Hoseok as he tidied up the remnants of their tea. The red-haired man had been quiet throughout the conversation.

“What do you think, Hoseokie?”

Hoseok stopped and inhaled deeply, finally raising his worried gaze to Sera. As a Hufflepuff, Hoseok tended to err on the side of caution, even if he was reckless enough during his time as Quidditch Captain. He balanced out the two Gryffindors at the table – Seokjin and Namjoon – quite nicely. Seokjin and Namjoon took calculated risks, sure, but they tend to ignore their own risk analysis and threw caution to the wind. It was no surprise that most of their misadventures at Hogwarts began with either Gryffindor ignoring common sense.

“I don’t like it.” He finally said. “It sounds too iffy. October is just around the corner and we don’t have time to do a proper spell test to see if it’s safe-”

“Oh, come on, Hobi!”

“If we had this discussion in May or June I would’ve said to go for it but time’s too short!” Hoseok’s voice had gotten louder, speaking over Namjoon who was trying to assure him it’ll be safe.

“No, Joon-ah, I don’t like it. It’s too risky. The Enemy gets stronger in October. It’s not time for experimentation. I don’t like it.

Besides, for all you know, instead of us turning noona into a walking insect repellent, we turn her into an insect instead.”

Eww no. No one wants to be a real life The Fly.

Sera was only half listening to the argument between Hoseok and Namjoon going back and forth, swishing the remnants of her tea around. At the end of the day, it really didn’t matter. It was her life, her decision.

Honestly, Sera was tired of all the doom and gloom. She hated that she only felt truly safe in fortified buildings. If she was to have a Nature affinity, Sera would need to be comfortable – feel safe – out in the open. She was a realist – she’d always been average at her magical studies. Her barriers and spells were simply adequate, nothing spectacular. If The Enemy came for her, it wouldn’t take much for him to defeat her. He was bound to, sooner or later. Sera had been very lucky so far. Whenever any of the other Candidates in her cohort were attacked, Sera had narrowly escaped being within the vicinity. As it was, she was amongst a handful of Guardian Candidates in history who did not confront The Enemy during their Candidacy. But there was still time. Sera wasn’t a Guardian just yet. And even as a full-fledged Guardian, even with the additional protective barrier the Guardianship offered, The Enemy has been known to pick off weaker Guardians and send them off to the next life.

When it comes to The Enemy, it was better to err on the side of caution.

Life is short, Sera decided. Sometimes, you just gotta YOLO.

“Let’s do it.”

*******

            **Destruction Monster**

            I think you’re right. Someone is tailing noona.

 

            **Min Suga**

            You walked her home?

 

            **Destruction Monster**

            Yeah. They’re good. Didn’t ping my personal alarms.

 

            **Min Suga**

            But that feeling?

 

            **Destruction Monster**

            Of being watched? Yeap.

            Maybe a good idea to get back to Seoul ASAP

 

            **Min Suga**

            Otw on Floo.

*******

There was a light thud followed by a low voice cursing.

Sera didn’t bat an eyelash as she continued watching her drama.

A few heartbeats later, a figure clad in grey pyjama pants and an oversized black tshirt emerged from the bathroom. His silvery-blue hair seemed to emit its own glow.

“Should’ve sealed that window.”

A chuckle. “You got any food? That’s not ramyun, I mean.”

Sera gritted her teeth. “Yeah. There’s lasagna in the fridge.”

“Nice.”

“What, there were no mice to catch?”

“Fuck you.”

“You wish.” Sera snorted.

A few minutes later Yoongi plopped himself on the couch next to her, eating right out of the lasagna dish.

“Dude.”

“Travelling across continents via Floo Network makes me hungry.” Yoongi protested.

“I really should charge you for groceries.”

“Put it on my tab, why don’t you.”

“Yeah? Along with flea shampoo and catnip?”

“I’ll have you know that I take baths every day and smell very nice, thank you very much.”

“Yeahh… I’m not sure cats are supposed to smell like gardenias, Yoongs.”

Yoongi shot her a death glare. Sera did so love poking fun at Yoongi’s Animagus status.

“So what did London say?” Even though, like Sera, Yoongi was attached to the Korean Ministry of Magic, international Aurors like himself were still answerable to the governing body in London. Issues of national security pop up once in a while – people weren’t all too happy that country-specific Aurors still needed to be regulated by an international agency in the United Kingdom – but the system works, somehow. Part of the reason why the system was in place was because there simply weren’t enough Aurors to go around, and magical transgressions went beyond borders.

Min Yoongi, code name Suga – for all his youth and slight build – had a pretty solid reputation as a fearsome Auror. After all, there weren’t many wizards who were both a Metamorphmagus and an Animagus and graduated in the top percentile of his year, all wizarding schools combined.

The fact that he was both a Min from the Mins of the Joseon Royal Court and a Slytherin just added to the legend of Min Suga.

Yoongi was formidable, to say the least. With the exception of Namjoon, he made all his other friends look like slackers.

If only the world knew that Min Yoongi was – essentially – a grumpy little grandpa who cosplayed as a rock.

Yoongi grunted between mouthfuls of food. “The usual. Management talks too much.” In reality, the London office had asked Yoongi to be on high alert. There were increased reports of dark magic activity in Seoul, and it was no coincidence that the last Guardianship ceremony for this generation’s River Song was taking place this October.

They wanted Yoongi to keep a very close watch on Song Sera. But Yoongi was not going tell her all that. Nothing would be achieved by freaking her out.

“Things okay on your end, Song?”

Sera sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Min. Been feeling pretty hopeless lately.” She surreptitiously glanced at his lap.

“Yeah?” Yoongi patted his thigh and and Sera literally pounced, immediately plonking a pillow and her head in his lap. He chuckled as he played with her hair. “That bad?”

She was faced away from him, but the pout in her voice was clear as day. Sera also sounded very miserable. “I’m not cut out for this life. I’m really not cut out for this.”

“No one’s cut out for this life.”

“No, it’s just- ” a strangled huff left her throat. “I wish… I wish I didn’t have a Guardian mark, Yoongi. I wish I wasn’t born in October. I wish I was normal. I wish I could just live a simple life. I’m just… I’m so tired. I feel so hopeless all the time. I didn’t ask for this. I don’t have the skills for this. I feel so miserable at times.”

“I know, sweetie.”

“I wish I could just… I dunno… work at the Emporium or something.”

“The guys would like that. Hobi especially. He can sic all the weird ingredients on you. Namjoon texted saying you were really good helping them with the customers today. You sure you wanna spend your life being a bureaucrat?" 

"The Government has a pretty attractive pension package. What's the Emporium's pension package like?"

"Ah, always so sensible. I'm pretty sure you'd have to marry either Jin hyung or Joonie to get a comparable pension package."

Sera chuckled. "That doesn't bode well for Hoseokie, does it?"

"Yeahhh but Hobi's practically family. He'd probably inherit if someone kills off Jin hyung and Joon."

"I thought you'd inherit, Yoongs."

"Me? A shopkeeper? Not in this lifetime." Yoongi snorted. He patted Sera's hip lightly. "Feel better?"

Sera nodded. She tugged Yoongi's hand up and kissed his palm, hugging his arm like a pillow.

"Much. Thanks Yoongs. I still have this feeling of absolute dread in the pit of my stomach but... yeah.

I don't feel like crumbling all the time right at this moment."

Yoongi placed a quick kiss on her head. "One day at a time, eh?

Let's take it one day at a time."

*******

He had watched as the blue-grey and white tabby cat gracefully made his way across the balconies. At times, the cat would pause, and look his way inquisitively, as if sensing his presence.

Min Yoongi was good, but his camouflage was flawless. The Auror might feel like he was being watched, but he knew Yoongi couldn’t spot him.

The cat slipped through an open bathroom window, and a few minutes later the lights in Song Sera’s kitchen came on, then went off a few minutes after that.

He sighed, dropping his spell. They would be preoccupied watching tv, and there was no sense in wasting his energy keeping up the elaborate spell. He felt the tiredness seeping into his bones, a testament of how much power he had been using this past few weeks. It was September – his birth month – and he should be at the peak of his power, his strength. But being in the service of his Master meant that he expanded so much of it picking off Guardians one by one, being exhausted was the norm.

But October was around the corner. The witching month, when dark magic was at its strongest.

He couldn’t wait for the extra boost. He’ll need it. His Master tolerated no failures.

*******

“You sure about this?”

Namjoon exploded. “For the hundredth time, hyung, I’m not sure, okay? We just have to wing it.”

Seokjin’s eyes were round. “Jeez, Joon, I just wanted to be sure. There’s no need to bite my head off.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes as he stoppered yet another vial of snake venom. They were nervous and on edge. Namjoon was getting testy with nerves, mumbling incantations over and over under his breath. Seokjin was veering between being a worrywart and telling increasingly bad dad jokes, while Hoseok went about his tasks while biting his nails until they were non-existent.

Sera seemed to be the only one who was relatively calm and sane. She was helping Hoseok make pouch after pouch of ground mixed flowers, occasionally preventing the younger man from again nervously biting his nails.

“Snake venom’s done.” Yoongi announced. “We better get a move on if we want to get this show on the road while Namjoon still has his birthday month advantage.”

“Right. Let’s go to the lab.” Seokjin carefully picked up the container of vials Yoongi had worked on, and led the way.

“The shields are in order, Hobi?”

“Yes, hyung. Fortified them again at lunch.”

“Locked the front door, Yoongi?”

Yoongi grunted in answer. That’s as good as Seokjin’s gonna get.

They had reached their destination. Seokjin gingerly stepped into the salt circle in the middle of the room.

“Emergency Protocol activated?”

Silence.

All eyes were trained on Namjoon as he grimaced.

“Namjoon?” there was a warning note in Seokjin’s voice.

“I knew I forgot something.” Namjoon muttered as he whipped out his phone and started a call.

“So who’s the Emergency Protocol this time around?” Yoongi drawled lazily as the other four began arranging their various apparatus in the middle of the salt circle.

“Seyoon and Jina.” Sera distractedly named her two cousins.

“Okay, Emergency Protocol activated.” Namjoon announced cheerily as he finally stepped into the salt circle, narrowly missing out on breaking the circle itself.

Hoseok hissed in annoyance.

“Whoopsie-doo.”

“It’s gonna be okay, right? Everything’s gonna be okay.” Seokjin mumbled to himself. “Oh God, please let everything be okay.”

Sera smiled wryly. It was never a good omen when the Gryffindors in your group start to panic.

“Come on.” Yoongi sighed. “Let’s get this over with. The longer we drag this out, the more anxious we become.”

“And the more likely noona gets turned into an insect.” Hoseok muttered.

“Hey!”

Namjoon and Sera stayed within the salt circle, while the rest stepped out. Their auras flared – Namjoon and Sera’s were both purple, affecting their immediate surroundings as they began dropping ingredients into the cauldron. The Guardian mark in Sera’s aura flared silver, then cooled, existing only as a thin silver ring outlining her body. Namjoon had his wand out – there was something in the Asian genetic make-up that enabled them to perform magic without the aid of a wand, but wands help wizards focus better. Sera dumped ingredient after ingredient, eyes flicking to the bookstand to consult the spell in Namjoon’s neat handwriting, mouth busily chanting words in a long-dead language. Inwardly, she was grateful for those long hours during her Candidacy when Joongki decided to make her brew potion after potion, spell after spell. If anything, she was much better now at spellcasting and potions making than when she was in Hogwarts.

The liquid in the cauldron began to bubble, and Namjoon signalled to Sera to take over stirring.

“You have to do everything alone now.” Namjoon said seriously, turning around and stepping outside the salt circle. The wards shimmered – blue, silver-white and green – before pulsing anew. A moment later, the wards added a new colour – purple.

Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as Sera concentrated on the tasks at hand. She was never one for multi-tasking. But everything faded away into the background as she concentrated on making the spell come to life – the hum of the room lights, the soft breaths of her friends. Even time seemed to have stopped, as Sera was only aware of the spell and her own being.

“Noona.” A deep voice jolted her out of her headspace. She blinked, never pausing in her chanting. The voice belonged to Namjoon, but her eyes found Seokjin instead. The older man’s piercing gaze held hers. His voice reverberated in her mind.

_The ring, Sera. Don’t forget the ring._

Ah yes. The ring that would bind the spell. One Ring to rule – waitttt…

Sera tried very hard to not think of Lord of the Rings. Now is so not the time.

Seokjin still held her gaze, and she could faintly hear his voice in her head. His mouth quirked into a smirk.

_Focus, sweetie._

Embarrassed, Sera broke off the connection, and dropped the ring into the cauldron. Goodness, what was wrong with her? She wasn’t usually so easily distracted. Plus, she’s been around these four men for years and years, she really shouldn’t be that affected by how handsome all four were.

Concentrate, Song Sera!    

The liquid in the cauldron bubbled over, producing bubbles the same colour as her aura. Sera tried not to let it affect her, keeping on stirring and chanting. It took a few more stirs before the bubbles seemed to calm and recede, and it wasn’t long before Sera could feel the liquid dissipating, until – in the end – she was stirring air instead. She dropped the wooden spoon and chanted the sealing spell.

“Seriously, noona? You pick this moment to eye-flirt with Seokjin hyung?” Hoseok teased as soon as the wards fell and the men stepped into the salt circle.

“I did no such thing.” Sera replied primly, amidst Seokjin’s windshield-wiper laugh. “He’s just very distracting.” She reached into the cauldron to pick up the shiny ring nestled inside.

“Yeah, right. For a second there it felt like we should’ve left the room and let the two of you do… whatever.” Yoongi grumbled.

Sera rolled her eyes. Seokjin and she weren’t telepathic, but apparently they had an affinity that on rare occasions allowed them to communicate telepathically.

It was one of the reasons Sera kept her distance from him. It really wouldn’t do to have him randomly read her thoughts. Plus, he was too attractive for his own good.

“So… I guess I should wear this ring?” Sera held up the simple silver band to the light, squinting. It didn’t look any different. “How do we know the spell worked?”

“Yeah, you should, at all times. And… well, I dunno. Wait for someone to attack you?” Namjoon shrugged as 4 identical ‘Really?’ expressions looked back at him.

“But seriously. Short of someone actually attacking you…”

It happened so fast that if it wasn’t for the aftermath, Sera would have thought she’d imagined the whole thing. A series of images imprinted on her mind.

Yoongi peering into the empty cauldron – that icy look in his eyes that sent a shiver down her spine in a split second – a silver-white flash – a sharp crack and another blinding flash – a faint but sharp sting on her skin, akin to the feeling when someone tries to force through her protective wards – a loud thud as Yoongi was thrown clear across the room.

“Yoongi!”

“Fucking hell!”

“Noona, you all right?” strong hands grabbed her arms as Sera stumbled, blinking rapidly, trying to regain sight. It took a few seconds before she could make out Namjoon’s worried face above hers.

“I’m… I’m okay, really. Did Yoongi just…?”

“What the hell were you thinking attacking her, Min?” Seokjin bellowed as he picked up the fallen Auror like a rag doll and shook him. “You could’ve killed her!”

“Hyung, hyung, hyung… oh, fuck, hyung… calm down. Please. Take a deep breath-”

“Calm down? YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN, HOSEOK? He attacked her with a Killing Curse you’re telling me to fucking calm down???”

“She’s okay, isn’t she?” Yoongi croaked, looking winded after being thrown off and having Seokjin shake him around. “The spell was successful.”

“He’s right.” Sera piped up. “I’m fine. Not even a scratch.” She smiled. “I’m okay, oppa. Please, let Yoongi go.”

“Please.”

Seokjin looked like he was fighting a battle with himself. His face was still red, his glare – murderous. He tightened his grip on Yoongi, and the smaller man winced.

“You…” he growled menacingly, before abruptly releasing the Auror. Yoongi fell into a heap.

“You almost killed her. You almost killed her.” Seokjin’s voice was shaking, and he stormed out. Namjoon hurried after his cousin.

Hoseok sighed, his heart-shaped mouth pulled into an intense frown. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. That was stupid, hyung.” He shook his head as he fussed over the older man.

Yoongi coughed a little as he looked up to Sera. She shook her head, caressing his face.

“You and your daredevilry.”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you, Sera. You know that, right? Sera?”

“I do. I trust you. I know you. But this wasn’t one of your brightest ideas. What if the spell was a dud, Yoongs?”

“But it worked. I know it did. I could feel it in my bones.”

“What, these broken ones?” Hoseok interjected grimly, poking at a limb that did not look quite right. Sera felt nauseated.

“Owwww!”

“No one else has your bones, babe.” Sera shook her head. “No one else knew. Can you blame Seokjin oppa for reacting the way he did?”

“But I could never hurt you, Sera. I could never put you in danger.”

“We know, hyung.” Hoseok interrupted. “Look, I need to put you under, okay? You’ve got broken bones, and your body’s still weak from your previous injury. You really shouldn’t have travelled to London, but what do I know, I’m no Auror.” He sighed. “We’ll talk more later.”

“Okay.” All at once Yoongi looked so small, so frail and lost. He looked up at Sera, eyes big and worried.

“We’ll talk later, Yoongs. It’ll be okay. I’m okay. You’re okay. Seokjin’s gonna be okay, too.”

“Okay.” He nodded, eyes never leaving her face. Sera stayed with him as Hoseok lulled him into unconsciousness.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look. An update! XD
> 
> Thank you for the kudos, people! Really wasn't expecting any :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, October. Things just got interesting. But Sera really didn't want to live in interesting times...

** October 1st **

Sera literally jumped out of her bed.

The wards…

She blindly reached for her wand and her phone on the nightstand, stuffing them into the pocket of the hoodie she fell asleep in as she stumbled towards her bedroom door. She’d managed to wrench it open when the sharp sting on her skin stopped.

Someone deactivated the wards.

Sera waited for the unsettling feeling of a ward dismantling to hit her, but it never did. She cocked her head to one side.

Weird… so the wards are still up? But that intrusion…

Her front door creaked open, and loud whispers could be heard all the way to her bedroom.

“Quiet! You’ll wake noona up! You’re so bad at this!”

“Sor-ree. I’m still light-headed from hyung stunning us, you know. I don’t experience this every day.”

“I said I was sorry, didn’t I? You guys really shouldn’t have surprised me like that.”

“It wasn’t as if we were being quiet, hyung. Tae was singing all the way down the corridor.”

“Is that what that was? I’m sorry, while I was concentrating, it sounded like some far-off cat caterwauling…”

“HEY!”

The lights flooding the entrance illuminated three men frozen in her doorway. One was using his phone to light the keypads on her alarm system, one had his hand raised as if to smack the third, who was still holding the door open.

Sera sighed.

“Can someone please explain to me how a muggle, a squib, and a wizard managed to set off a magical alarm that was especially designed to let them in?”

The tallest of the three cleared his throat. “Well, noona, that kinda sounds like the beginnings of a joke. A muggle, a squib, and a wizard walked into a bar…”

“Not now, TaeTae.” The one who was working on the alarm system murmured. He punched in the code with a flourish. “Noona looks fit to murder us.”

“Amongst other things.”

“It was my fault.” Hoseok sent her an apologetic smile as he shut the door. “I was testing your wards when Tweedledee and Tweedledum decided to jump me.”

“We didn’t jump you!” Kim Taehyung protested, his deep voice cracking in indignation. “We were hugging you! Enthusiastically! Well, maybe too enthusiastically…”

“… which resulted in Hoseokie hyung toppling face first into the wards. Oops.” Park Jimin grinned, his eyes disappearing into cute moon crescents. “Our bad, noona. Should’ve remembered that hyung’s getting along in age and his hearing’s beginning to suffer.”

“Yah, you brat…”

Sera rolled her eyes at her younger cousin. “You saw the wards shimmer, right? Noticed it wasn’t all just purple?”

Hoseok and Jimin’s face paled. Taehyung cocked his head to one side. “Wards... shimmer?”

All at once, 4 separate phones chimed with an incoming message.

  

> **Min Suga**
> 
> What the actual fuck. I’m killing whoever woke me up from sleep.

 

“Well… at least he didn’t send a Howler?” Jimin smiled sheepishly. “Just the usual text.”

Taehyung frowned. “Is a Howler one of those flying envelope thingies like the one your Mom sent that time we-”

Jimin smiled threateningly at his best friend as he covered the taller man’s mouth shut. “Yes, Tae, exactly that.”

Sera decided that she really didn’t want to know what her mischievous squib cousin and his excitable muggle bestfriend had done to warrant a Howler from her aunt. Or why it sounded as if this wasn’t the first time Yoongi has threatened to kill them both.

“Noona, you got any eggs? We didn’t get any breakfast. Jiminnie can cook us all breakfast.” Taehyung wriggled himself free of Jimin’s grasp and made a beeline to her kitchen, not waiting for a response.

“Noona! You do have food other than ramyun! Look Jiminnie, she even has VEGETABLES!!!”

“Okay, now, wait, where is this misconception that I solely consume ramyun coming from?” Sera frowned. It was one thing getting teased about it at the Emporium, but even Jimin and Taehyung? This is so odd.

Hoseok smiled too innocently, shrugging.

“How’s Yoongi?”

“Bones are coming along nicely. Not as fast as it should though. He still is rather weak, although he’s too stubborn to admit it and avoids discussing it by turning into a cat.”

“Nothing new there. Is Seokjin oppa still mad?”

Hoseok shook his head. “No. Least, I don’t think so. The fact that you didn’t have a scratch greatly helped. He was still all thunder and lightning when we got home, but he was sleeping in Yoongi hyung’s bed when I checked on him this morning. He’ll come ‘round, noona.”

“Noona! You’re out of pepper!” Taehyung hollered from the kitchen, making the wizards jump.

“Good God. Where is the volume button on that one.” Sera grumbled. Hoseok laughed as they both headed for breakfast.

“So where are you off to today, noona? What with all your enhanced powers and all. More training?”

Sera shook her head at Taehyung. “No. Back home, actually. Mother’s been wanting me to move back in until my ceremony, but I don’t think it’ll make any difference if someone comes looking for me.” She smiled. “Father and Mother aren’t in any condition for duels, and Sejin eonnie… well… she’s been out of practice…”

“But being back at Jindale Drive means you have added security.” Jimin pointed out. “The house isn’t easy to break through. Plus, its central location means help can reach you quickly.”

“My apartment isn’t easy to break through as well, Jiminnie. Those were some bunker grade wards y’all pushed Hobi through.” Well at least Taehyung had the grace to look sheepish. “Besides, the Enemy won’t try anything too drastic with so many people around. Jindale Drive’s too quiet.”

“Speaking of which, what brings the both of you here? It’s way out of your neighbourhood.” Hoseok stared at them curiously.

“Do I need an excuse to drop in on my most favourite cousin?”

“We’re just heading back after an all-night B-grade movie marathon at one of the cinemas.” Taehyung mumbled at the same time.

“TAEEE! You didn’t have to tell them that!”

“What? They have magic, they’ll figure it out somehow.” The muggle seemed unbothered.

“Magic doesn’t work that way.” Jimin grumbled. “We’ve been friends for more than 5 years now, you really should know the basics already.”

“So sue me. I’m not supposed to know magic exists, anyway.”

“Favourite cousin my ass.” Hoseok snorted.

“Well, that wasn’t the ONLY reason.” Jimin grounded out. “I have a dance performance coming up on the 25th, noona. Would really love it if you could attend. I reserved 7 seats!”

“I’ll be there too!” Taehyung beamed. “Not dancing of course, but in the audience. We can sit together!”

“You’re invited as well, Hoseokie hyung. And Namjoonie hyung, and Yoongi hyung, and Seokjinnie hyung…”

“Yes. Do, do, do bring Yoongi hyung along. Please please do.” Taehyung nodded fervently, smiling teasingly at Jimin, who’d blushed.

Jimin’s crush on the Auror was something of a very badly kept secret.

“Ah.” Hoseok nodded in understanding. “You just want Yoongi hyung there. Not me, or the others. Well, we’ll just send him with Sera noona then.”

“No no no hyung!” Jimin protested, eyes wide, as Taehyung guffawed at Hoseok’s mock-offended expression. “I want you there! I want the whole gang there! Hyunggggg~ come onnnn! Ya, Kim Taehyung, look what you’ve done!”

Sera shook her head and smiled fondly at the noisy men at her table. The Sunshine Trio, that’s what they were called.

25th October… 2 days before her Guardianship Ceremony.

Sera shook her head. “7? Who’s the 7th?”

The three men stopped clowning around. “What?”

A phone chimed. Hoseok was distracted by an incoming notification.

Sera blinked at Jimin. “You said you reserved 7 seats, Chim. There’s only 6 of us, not counting yourself as the performer. Who’s the 7th?”

Both Jimin and Taehyung blinked back at her slowly in sync. Sera suddenly felt lightheaded. Her inner voice was whispering that something’s not quite right.

But Jimin shook his head and beamed at her. “Did I say 7, noona? Must be a slip of tongue. 6, of course there’s only 6 seats. Why would I reserve 7? Pishhhh.”

Taehyung laughed. “Getting old, Jiminnie. Can’t even control your own mouth. How are you supposed to put out a world-class performance?”

Just like that, the mood became brighter. But Sera couldn’t shake the feeling that Something Just Happened.

*******

Sera blinked into the bright sunlight. She shook her head, gathering herself together. She wasn’t a big fan of Apparating, but it was still the fastest way to her parents’ home.

 

> _“But I don’t wanna take the train back.” Taehyung had whined, as she ushered the boys out of her apartment. “Taking the train is too pedestrian. Why can’t Sera noona just Apparatus us, too?”_
> 
> _“It’s Apparate, dummy, and noona would get into a whole lot of trouble if she took a muggle along. Plus she literally works at the Ministry of Magic. Setting a good example and all that jazz.”_
> 
> _“But Jiminnie doesn’t have magic, too! And I’ve seen him appear out of thin air with wizards!”_
> 
> _“Wizards? As in plural? Park Jimin, why are you running around and Apparating with many, many wizards?”_
> 
> _“Tae’s exaggerating, noona. I’ve only been Apparating along with family members and Seokjinnie hyung.” He elbowed the taller man. “Besides, that’s different because I’m born into a wizarding family and have been around magic all my life.” Jimin sighed patiently. “I’ve explained this to you a hundred times, Tae. Do you really still not understand?”_
> 
> _“Of course I do.” Taehyung grinned his patented boxy smile. “I just like being whiny.”_
> 
> _That earned him a slap behind his head from both Jimin and Hoseok._

 

Tugging at her backpack, Sera walked the short distance to the Song residence and let herself in. The house – like most wizarding homes – had a super strong Shield Charm that prevented Apparating/ Disapparating within its grounds. Besides, it was bad form to just appear/ disappear to/ from someone’s house while visiting. Common courtesy, really.

“I’m ho~meee!”

“Sera! You’re here!” a woman appeared from the kitchen. “No one told me you’d be coming home today!”

Sera smiled at the Song’s housekeeper. “Sorry, eonnie, I should’ve called. But it is October, so…”

“Your mother could speak of nothing else, really. She’s definitely more on edge this year.”

“Hmm… gee… I wonder why.”

The housekeeper smiled wryly at her. “Off with you. Best to see her right away. She’s been re-organizing her room manually since dawn.”

“Yikes.”

Sera knocked on the Master bedroom door and entered.

“Mother…”

Mother was on the floor, surrounded by piles of bags and clothes. She smiled up at her youngest, who looked taken aback at the mess.

“Hello, Sera. And here I thought you’d forgotten the way home. We all know you’d never call.”

Sera smiled wryly as she closed in for a hug. Her relationship with Mother wasn’t the best, but they got along all right.

“I’m only back for the night, though. Have to work tomorrow so it’s easier to commute from the apartment.”

“You’re not staying here until the Guardianship Ceremony?”

“Nope. Will be back for that week itself though, for prep.”

Mother pursed her lips. “It really doesn’t matter what I say since you’re so stubborn. Perhaps your father will be able to make you see reason.”

Yeah, kinda doubt that, Sera thought, but she kept her thoughts to herself. It would just cause World War III if she didn’t.

It wasn’t long before Sera heard Father’s car in the driveway. He was getting along in years, but he still liked driving down to the nearby park and play muggle chess with the old men who played there.

Like much of the wizarding communities in Asia, the wizarding families in Korea lived among muggles. Some wizarding companies even have muggle subsidiaries, and it was perfectly normal to find the odd wizard having a muggle job. And yet, somehow, the wizarding community has managed to keep the existence of magic a secret.

To the muggles, Father was a retired government official, hired as Chairman of a modest investment company. Amongst the wizards, Father was Chair of The Elder Council of Seoul, a position he’d hold until his death.

“Hello, Father.”

“Oh? You’re here!” he beamed tiredly at her, as his car keys flew off to its resting place. “I thought you were coming home yesterday?”

“Oh… ahh… I had some stuff to do.”

“Work?”

“No.”

“Experiments, then.”

“Noootttt exactly.” And Sera kept silent as she followed Father to the living room. She wasn’t going to elaborate, and Father has always kept his nose out of his children’s affairs.

They sat together in silence, watching a golf match. The silence wasn’t oppressive or uncomfortable, but Sera was getting restless because golf was just so boring and she didn’t understand it at all.

“As long as you’re careful.” Father finally said, eyes glued to the screen.

Sera waited for him to bring up Mother’s request, but he remained silent. She should’ve known. Father really didn’t say much more than what’s necessary.

“Mother wants me to move back in until after the ceremony.”

Silence.

“I don’t want to.”

Father shifted. “If you don’t want to, then don’t.”

“But Mother…” Sera sighed. “She’ll be angry with me.” She pouted.

“If you’re worried about that, then do as she says. If not, well… you’ve always done whatever you wanted.” Father answered wryly. “I personally think that what Mother is asking of you is warranted. But if you feel safe enough at your own place, then go ahead.

You’re an adult. You can make your own decisions.”

Sera sat quietly, contemplating. That has always been Father’s style. He wasn’t one to impose something on his children. Everyone’s an adult who can think for themselves.

Mother, though…

Sera understood where her mother was coming from. It wasn’t easy, being the wife of the Chair and mother to a Guardian Candidate. Everytime the Enemy strikes, Mother’s health would suffer.

But she couldn’t stay at Jindale Drive. Sera couldn’t explain it, but she had this nagging feeling that Jindale Drive wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She was supposed to be in her own space.

Something is supposed to happen, and being at Jindale Drive isn’t going to make it happen.

*******

** October 4th **

The first few days of October had been uneventful. There was still that air of apprehension hanging around, but word on the street was that even the Enemy was lying low.

That’s not always a good sign.

 “New ring. A gift?” her boss had commented one day, as they were reviewing official papers.

“N-no, just something I bought for myself.”

He nodded. “You’ve been fiddling it a lot. Thought that perhaps you were thinking of the person who gave it to you.” he smirked. "A boyfriend, finally." 

Sera had blushed and changed the topic immediately. The ring was something Namjoon had picked up. Sera could just imagine how wild the office gossip would be if they knew she was wearing a ring gifted by Kim Namjoon.

Sera had dropped by Emporium a few days after they cast the spell. Hoseok was pottering about in front as always, and Seokjin came out from the storerooms to greet her briefly. He was polite enough, but the air was decidedly chill.

“Hyung’s still not over the fact that he lost control.” Hoseok shrugged, smiling comfortingly at her. “Him and Yoongi hyung don’t interact more than absolutely necessary. It’s driving Namjoon crazy, but what can he do, really.”

Yoongi – according to Hoseok – has almost fully recovered. His bones were as good as new, and it seemed like he’d even almost had completely recovered from whatever injuries he sustained in the line of duty. None of the boys ever explained to Sera how exactly Yoongi got injured, and she never asked, but now, Sera wondered if she should’ve.

No normal injury takes such a long time to heal.

Sera had dragged herself back home. She was feeling out of sorts… that feeling of foreboding had intensified. She double-checked her wards, and kept fiddling with the ring on her finger. It was maddening. She couldn’t sit still.

Finally, when she couldn’t take it anymore, Sera made herself a Sleeping Draught.

*******

The blue-grey and white tabby cat silently jumped the ledges and balconies leading up the apartment building. He veered to the side, and gingerly climbed the ledge leading to an open bathroom window. The cat slipped in, ignoring the slight sting of the protective barrier that shimmered, and jumped down into the bathroom. There was a slight sigh as the cat transformed into a naked young man with jet black hair, and said young man hastily conjured clothes to cloth himself.

Yoongi slipped out of the bathroom, his eyes adjusting to the dim light emanating from the night light in the corner. He silently padded towards the sleeping figure on the bed and hovered over her. Yoongi loathed waking Sera up – he of all people understood the joys of sleeping all too well – but needs must.

Gently, Yoongi shook her shoulder. “Sera, wake up.”

Sera moved away from his touch, mumbling in her sleep. She sighed.

He tried again. “Sera, sweetie, you have to wake up for me now.”

Sera whined, frowning. She flipped over, facing Yoongi. He gently pushed away her stray bangs from her face as her eyes fluttered open.

“Yoongs?”

The young Auror looked sombre. His recent jet black hair making him look more frail than ever.

“There’s been an incident.”

*******

** October 5th **

Just past midnight.

Some people loathed going to hospitals, but to Sera, it was just one of those places she spent a large portion of her childhood in. The smell of disinfectant was comforting to her. It didn’t matter if it was the sharp, chemical disinfectant of muggle hospitals, or the more familiar aroma of peppermint and tea tree commonly used in magical establishments. The smell of disinfectant, the harsh white lights, the beeping medical instruments – it wasn’t foreign to her.

Sera was a sickly child. She’d been to many a specialist in muggle hospitals, received quite a number of treatments at wizarding ones. Never anything too serious, but always something that prevented her from being described as a ‘healthy’ child. Hospitals ceased to be scary to her.

And this was before her Candidacy manifested. Then, she spent even more time visiting hospitals. Or, to be more accurate, visiting attacked Guardians or Candidates. Her uncles and aunts, cousins.

River Songs.

It was also around this time that Sera became more – reluctantly – acquainted with the morgue. As Chair of The Elder Council of Seoul, Father had responsibilities towards the fallen Guardians and Candidates.

As a senior member of the River Song Clan, Father shared the burden and sorrow of arranging funeral preparations for his kin who’d left this world at too young an age.

Hospitals were not unfamiliar to Sera, but as she inhaled the comforting smell of peppermint wafting around her, for the life of her, she couldn’t get her bearings. She had no idea where Yoongi was taking her. The familiar warren-like corridors of Goyohan Hospital seemed impossibly complicated to her at the moment, and only the strong smell of peppermint and Yoongi’s sure grip kept her grounded. Her hands were cold, the tips of her fingers impossibly so, and Yoongi’s warm hand encompassing hers, tugging her forward, was doing nothing to make them warmer.

The Auror glanced back worriedly at her. Sera had been silent since he’d roused her from sleep. She was always a quiet one, but this… this was unnaturally so. Right before they turned down the final corridor, they stopped, and Yoongi enveloped her in an all-encompassing hug.

“Sera.” He sighed. “You’re cold. So cold. Sera…”

Her hands snaked around his waist to hug him back. “I’m scared, Yoongi.”

“I know. I know. I love you, okay? This isn’t your fault. The Fates are shitty, okay? They dealt you a really bad hand. Don’t own all the blame. You’re not the one to blame.”

Really? Really, really? It feels like it is, though. Her fault.

Yoongi was at a loss. Times like these he wished he was more like Hoseok, whose mere presence was a comfort. But he was Yoongi, whose talents in spellcasting and morphing was useless in alleviating the hurt in his much-cherished friend’s heart.

And Sera was much-cherished, and even loved, not just by Yoongi, but all of their friends. Regardless of her stubbornly believing that she was inherently unlovable.

“Come on. I have to see him. I need to see him.”

They rounded the corner and encountered a small crowd outside his hospital room. Most of the River Songs were already there, their demeanour sombre. The low murmurings stopped at Sera and Yoongi’s presence.

Father, Mother, Sekyung eonnie, Sewoon oppa, Sejin eonnie… even her whole family were amongst their relatives.

And Hyegyo eonnie. Joongki oppa’s wife.

“Sera.” Sekyung stepped forward. It was the impetus for everyone to resume what they were doing.

Sera found herself hugged by her eldest sibling, a slight comforting squeeze. Sekyung stepped away.

“You feel so cold.” There was alarm in her sister’s eyes, as it darted between her and Yoongi. Sera shrugged, all her attention on the woman wrapped in Mother’s embrace – face pale and withdrawn, cheeks streaked with dried tears.

“Hyegyo eonnie… what happened?”

The older woman sighed. “He was doing his rounds, like he always did. But it’s October, so we followed the Rules.”

“No solo work.”

Hyegyo nodded. “No solo work. Right. So I tagged along. We were walking around the Central Park, when we saw it. An area, devoid of colour. Devoid of life.

It was bigger than any that we’ve encountered.

So I stood watch as Joongki did what he had to do. Revive the area. Coax life.

And we got hit.”

Hyegyo paused, inhaling raggedly.

“Hyegyo-ya, you don’t have to do this now.” Sejin started.

“No. I… I have to do this now. While I remember most of it.” And she stared right at Sera, her eyes wild. “Sera needs to know. She’s Joongki’s Candidate, after all. She needs to know what happened to him.

We were attacked. I was blindsided – there was a flash of very bright light, and I was knocked off my feet. It felt like I was stuck in a whirlwind – everything was moving so fast, spinning around. Joongki was deep into his work by then, and the attack broke his concentration. I saw bits and pieces – how his wards broke, how a force so strong slammed into him, pushing him straight into that dead zone. He must’ve touched something, because his hands began to lose colour.”

There was a gasp. Sera belatedly realized it came from her.

“But all at once all the chaos stopped. I was still unbalanced, my world was still spinning. I couldn’t tell the ground from the sky. I almost blacked out but this voice… this young man’s voice kept insisting I fight it, I had to push through.”

“Young man?” Yoongi’s brow furrowed. “Who…?”

“I don’t know.” Hyegyo shook her head. “His voice was unfamiliar. When my world stopped spinning, there was no one there. But Joongki… Joongki was outside of that dead zone. I swear I saw him fall into it, and he did. His hands were beginning to lose colour.

There was a charmed tourniquet of sorts that was slowing down the discolouration from spreading. I didn’t look around, I just… I just Apparated here. I couldn’t think straight all I could think was to get help for Joongki.”

“You did so well, love.” Mother murmured, rubbing her back soothingly. She threw Sera and Yoongi a look that clearly meant No More Questions.

“But who…?” Yoongi whispered in Sera’s ear, brows still knitted together. “It couldn’t be… it couldn’t be hyung’s attacker, could it? Joongki hyung’s attacker actually saving him instead? But that makes no sense! But who else could it be?”

“Sera. Yoongi.” Sejin approached the two young ones, her face inscrutable. Her eyes were probing, searching. That no-nonsense vibe that was her trademark was on full blast.

“That tourniquet…”

Sera tilted her head. “Yeah?”

Sejin held up a charmed evidence bag. One that Sera knew her brother Sewoon carried on his person everywhere, as a doctor. There was a scarf in it. A very familiar looking scarf.

“It’s a Ravenclaw scarf.”

*******

Sera’s eyes flew open at the sound of the door.

Sewoon stepped in, grinning as he guided a tray to rest atop a table.

“Hey. Thought you’d still be asleep, maknae.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Can’t.” she almost shrugged, before remembering that Cat Yoongi was sprawled across her lap, asleep.

One does not wake a Sleeping Yoongi, regardless if he was in cat form, human form, or whatever hair colour he felt like having that day.

“Too many thoughts running around in my brain.”

Her older brother nodded, eyeing the sleeping cat, and headed over to Joongki to check his vitals.

“He’s lucky. If Hyegyo didn’t arrive just in time, we would’ve definitely had to cut off his arm. As it was, she would’ve been very late if that charmed tourniquet wasn’t there.” Sewoon sighed, looking down at the younger man lying unconscious on the hospital bed.

“That tourniquet is a brilliant piece of magic, Sera.” The doctor nodded. “A very delicate and elegant fusing of healing, protection and deterrent spells. Advanced skill. I’ve never seen a spell woven so intricately in all my years. Brilliant. Just… brilliant.”

Sera nodded. “I can’t imagine there are many people in the world who possess such skill, oppa.”

Sewoon flashed her an amused smile. “You’re right, there aren’t many. Other than the one who is currently in cat-form in your lap, none of those with that skill could legitimately be called a young man by Hyegyo’s definition.” He shrugged. “I daresay I’m the next youngest, and I’m pushing 40 already.”

“Definitely not a young man.”

“Definitely not.”

The two siblings shared a soft smile. “I would feel much more at ease if you moved back to Jindale Drive for October but-” he raised an arm before Sera could say anything “I have faith that you’ll be able to keep yourself mostly intact by the time that darn ceremony rolls by.”

Sera shrugged. “Mother’s not convinced I’ll be safe, though.”

“I said intact, not safe.” Sewoon snorted. “I’ve been a doctor here far too long to expect Guardians to run around with nary a scratch. And your brother for far longer to not suspect that you’ve gotten into more trouble than what we officially know.

Just survive, Sera, that’s all I ask. I don’t want the next patient I have to handle in the ER be my own sister.”

*******

“Sera, we have to talk.”

“I’m late for work. Whatever it is can wait until I get off.”

Yoongi stared at her in disbelief. “You’re still going to work? Now? While Joongki hyung’s in the hospital?”

Sera stopped stuffing her work bag and straightened, levelling the Auror a hard stare.

“And what will you have me do, Yoongi? Sit around and mope all day? Huddle in a cave and hide from the world? What?”

Yoongi’s face was carefully blank. “We need to figure out who that guy Hyegyo noona heard. Who he is in the whole scheme of things.

Sera, it’s a Ravenclaw scarf. We can’t ignore the fact that it might be-”

Sera grabbed her bag with such force that Yoongi fell silent. There was anger in her actions, anger in her expression.

“No. We’re not doing this now. Whatever it is you have to say to me, can wait.” She drew a shaky breath to steady herself.

“But-”

“It can wait, Yoongi.”

And Sera was gone, in a whirlwind of brown blazers and the smell of gardenias and rustle of papers, and Yoongi was left alone standing in the middle of the empty apartment, hair tousled, arms crossed over his chest.

He sighed.

Ahh the stubbornness of River Songs.

*******

Her boss did a double take when she stepped into their Section.

“What are you doing here?”

Sera blinked. “It’s Thursday, isn’t it? A working day?”

“Yes, b-but… with S-Song Joongki…” Sera just stared as her boss trailed off.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to take the day off?”

“Better for whom? And to do what?” Sera shrugged. “Moping’s not going to help. Might as well work.”

“Sera…”

“I’ll be fine, Mr. Lee.” She grounded out. “I’m fine.”

Sera threw herself into her work. She didn’t even realize it was lunch break, until her boss and her colleagues dragged her off to Subway.

_Ravenclaw scarf…_

No, don’t think about it. Don’t even think about it. Don’t.

And then it was time to clock off, but Sera had just one more paper to attempt to write. Mr Lee shook his head as he watched the young woman typing furiously, and gave up on trying to get her to leave things for another day.

The stubbornness of River Songs.

“Sera, aren’t you packed yet? Come on, everyone’s left already.”

Sera looked up from the paper she was working on and smiled at her co-worker.

“Nahh… you go ahead. I’m just finishing this up.”

Her co-worker sat on the sofa in her room. “Nope. Not gonna go unless you clock out with me. We’re the last ones left and the elevator ride to the lobby is hella creepy at this hour.”

Sera grinned.

It was another half an hour before the two ladies stepped into the elevator in the Ministry of Magic. Her co-worker was chattering on about a new play she and her husband had watched over the weekend, and Sera was only half-listening.

“Oh? Is Kim Seokjin supposed to pick you up?”

“Err… no. Why?”

“Because he’s been waving at us like a crazy loon and I don’t think it’s my attention he’s trying to attract.”

“What are you doing here?” Sera stared at the taller man wide-eyed, after she bid her co-worker a hasty goodbye.

“Walking you home, of course.” Seokjin smiled winningly, his eyes twinkling behind horn-rimmed glasses

Sera frowned. “Why?” her voice had gone low, a sure sign she was suspicious and on the defensive.

“Because… I was in the neighbourhood?”

Silence.

“Yeahh… no. Try again.”

Seokjin sighed. “Oookayyyyy. We just thought after what happened with Joongki hyung, it’s not a good idea for Guardians to be wandering alone. Especially until November comes along.”

“Guardians… or just perhaps one Guardian in particular? A Candidate? And who’s ‘we’?”

“Come on.” Seokjin looped her hand through the crook of his arm and gently tugged her to get her walking. “I know I don’t have to answer that. Believe that all this worrying is coming from a place of love, okay?”

Sera was still frowning. “I’m a grown woman, oppa. I can take care of myself.”

“I know.”

“I’m pretty capable, too. I can blast people just fine.”

“I don’t doubt that at all.”

They walked together in silence. Sera shivered at a sudden blast of cold air, making her huddle against Seokjin for warmth. She looked up as Seokjin looked down at her in surprise. Sera wasn’t one prone to cuddles.

“Your hands are so cold, Song Sera.”

That affinity…

> _It’s okay to be afraid, Sera. It’s okay._

 

Sera’s eyes started to water.

> _I’m so tired of being afraid, oppa. So, so, tired._
> 
> _I know. I know. But you have your family. And you have us. We won’t let the monsters get you._
> 
> _I promise._

*******

He stomped his feet on the pavement. His clothes were thin, too thin as the weather turned colder. But he dare not go back to his place in search of warmer clothes. His Master no doubt was keeping watch, and he had no desire to get his housemates stuck in the crossfire.

Ah, shit, his housemates. He hoped Master found them inconsequential and would leave them be. They were no threat to his Master.

He briefly entertained the thought of a Hearth Warming Spell, but discarded it quickly. Master would’ve instructed the other Underlings to keep a look out for his magical signature. He really just wanted to be alone at the moment.

Theoretically, he could’ve walked into a store and bought himself new clothes. Or waltz into a hotel and get a room for himself. He had money – both the wizarding and muggle kind. A lot of money. More money than he could spend. But after what happened today… well, it was best to not attract any attention. To lay low. The less questions asked, the better.

He shivered. Some of it was the cold, but he’d always been good at withstanding the cold. Most of it was due to the memory of what his Master had him do.

He’s been shadowing the Guardian for quite some time. Watching as he went about his duties as a full-fledged Guardian, on excursions with his wife, his day job at the Elder Council. The Guardian was affable, and well-liked. Was kind, but a bit scary at times. He thought the Guardian was an admirable man.

 

> _“You must kill him.” Master hissed, every syllable striking fear into his heart. “To weaken the Candidate, you must kill her Mentor. One last person to stand between us, and The City of Seoul.”_
> 
> _Master had laughed, then. If that horrible, sickly sound could be called a laugh. He has memories of the sound of laughter – his own, his family, his friends. With absolute clarity, he could pick out one of his most favourite – a man’s squeaky laugh that sounded like windshield wipers._
> 
> _Very much unlike his Master’s. No, what his Master did was not laughing. There was no joy, no happiness in it. Just malice._
> 
> _“Did they think I was a fool? A River Song born in October. One with a Guardian mark. It can only mean one thing – a Guardian born to battle me. Did they think hiding her, sending her abroad would keep her safe from me?_
> 
> _Fools. FOOLS. I own this city. Nothing happens within Seoul that I do not know of._
> 
> _Fools. Entrusting a mousy girl to fight me. To vanquish me. The Guardians of Seoul grow more foolish by the day.”_

 

He shivered again. The memory of seeing the red glow of his Master’s eyes glow brighter at the prospect of getting rid of the Guardians of Seoul made his blood run cold. Master seemed so certain this time. So very certain.

How could he not? Master had picked him, trained him, precisely to do just this. Beat the Guardians of Seoul into submission. Reverse the curse they had levelled on Master centuries ago.

He was Master’s ticket to freedom. To claiming Seoul for himself.

He shook his head, glancing quickly around him before hopping over the subway turnstile. He’d stay down here for a bit – there were many underground passages within the Seoul subway system that time – and people – had forgotten. It was warmer down here. He could sleep, and think, and perhaps avoid Master’s punishment for a little while longer.

He shouldn’t have saved that Guardian and his wife. Master had wanted the Guardian killed. But he’d never killed anyone before. He wasn’t about to do so now.

If he killed someone… he could never go back. Back to who he was before he got caught up in all this drama. After all these years, he still hoped he could walk away from this tangled mess he found himself in.

The other Underlings would’ve laughed at him. Holding on to something so hopeless.

 

> _“Think you they’ll forgive everything you’ve done? Think they’ll accept you with open arms? Delusional.”_
> 
>  

He stopped at an empty bench and sat for a bit. Staring as trains passed by, as people moved around him going about their daily life.

 

> _“Think you can just slip back into your life Before?”_

 

Maybe not. Maybe not. But anything’s better than this.

*******

“She’s annoyed.”

“I’d rather her be annoyed than dead.” Namjoon snapped. He shook his head.

“Sorry, hyung. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“It’s okay. I’m not one to throw stones at you for getting emotional over your friends’ safety.” Seokjin smiled wryly, shooting Yoongi a fond glance.

Yoongi snorted.

“Can you blame her though? In the space of 24 hours, her Mentor gets attacked and falls into a coma and almost loses his hand, she again gets into an argument with her mother about moving back home before the Ceremony – don’t you dare interrupt, Joon, we know for sure this happened again after Joongki hyung’s attack because her family is traditional to a fault – and we’re nagging at her to let us be her security detail and get her to sleep over our place or let us crash here instead.” Hoseok looked around. “Did I miss anything?”

“No. You were surprisingly thorough.”

“Why, thank you, Namjoon-ah.”

“The scarf.” Yoongi chimed in. “You forgot about the scarf. The Ravenclaw scarf.”

The room was dead silent. The boys stole uneasy glances at each other. None of them wanted to address the elephant in the room.

“Hyung.” Namjoon began. “Hyung, we don’t know if it’s him. So many Koreans attended Hogwarts over the years. It might not even be a former student. Maybe someone got the scarf as a gift or something…”

“That is the weakest excuse-”

“All I’m saying is…” Namjoon raised both his palms outwards towards Yoongi. “All I’m saying is that we can’t jump to conclusions. We need more proof.

At this point, it could be anyone, hyung.”

“It could, but…” Yoongi suddenly looked so vulnerable. He seemed unsure, and hurt, and fragile. He inhaled deeply. Yoongi was always so strong but this… this was his weak spot.

“It could, but why is it that after all these years, we still can’t find him, Joon-ah? Don’t you think that’s weird? All our resources, and not a trace of him. And suddenly, some unknown comes around waving a Ravenclaw scarf. Right before Sera’s Ceremony. You don’t think this is significant?”

Seokjin got up and enveloped the smaller man in his embrace. “Breathe, Yoongi. Breathe.” He whispered, as Yoongi struggled to remain calm.

Hoseok had crept closer to Namjoon, a hand creeping around the taller man’s waist. He squeezed. Namjoon inhaled an unstable breath of his own.

“It’s not that I think it’s insignificant, hyung. It’s that I don’t want to freak Sera noona out more. Everyone’s main objective is for her to go through her ceremony safely.

She just… she just needs to go through that damn ceremony safely.”

Hoseok whined. “Why couldn’t she be born on October 1st? We’d be done by now. And not be walking on eggshells all the time. And not almost arguing all the time.”

Seokjin snorted. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Yoongi let out a bitter laugh. “Oh boy. I could use with a little less of this brand of fun in my life, that’s for sure, hyung.”

“Heh. You’re in the wrong line of work, Yoongi.”

“I know. But I’m so damn good at it, it would be a shame to squander all this talent just to live life as a cat, how tempting that might be.”

“You’re an Animagus, not a were-cat. Really, hyung.” Hoseok chuckled.

“If I could Transfigure myself into a rock, believe me I would.”

“Are you guys done, or do you need 5 more minutes to bicker and stuff?” a bored voice interrupted. Sera calmly adjusted her towel turban as 4 pairs of eyes swung her way.

“No, really, it’s not like I need to eat and sleep or whatever.”

“We’re staying here for the night.” Namjoon piped up, voice resolute. “No arguments, noona. We’re staying. And I don’t care if you’re annoyed or… or… you want to argue how you’re a grown-up who can take care of herself… dammit, your Mentor got attacked and you went to WORK today… no arguments, we’re staying.”

Everyone pretty much just blinked for a few seconds. It was rare for Namjoon to just suddenly burst out like that. It was more of a Seokjin thing to do, really.

“I would never dream of kicking you lot to the curb, really.” Sera slowly responded. “I know you think it’s weird that I simply clocked in to work, but I needed to adhere to my routine to like, calm down and stuff. I’m actually glad for the company.”

“Hey noona.” Hoseok smiled warmly at her, holding her by her arms. His voice was soothing, like warm sunlight.

“We’re with you in this, okay? You’re gonna go live your life, then go through the Guardianship Ceremony, and then carry on with your duties, and October’ll be over and everyone’s fine. And Joongki hyung’s gonna heal real well and he’d be right as rain and... and… and Yoongi hyung’s gonna catch the Enemy and beat him to a pulp and things will be hunky-dory. Right, Yoongi hyung?”

“Huh? Oh, ah, yeah, yeah… bad Enemy, bad. Smash.”

“We’re gonna be okay, noona. Just A-okay.”

*******

 

> _Just A-okay._
> 
> _Sera blinked. Who said that?_
> 
> _The compartment door slammed open, rattling its frame. A lone boy stood there, in ripped jeans and a black band t-shirt. He eyed Sera sleepily, and grunted._
> 
> _Well._
> 
> _Sera frowned up at him as he entered the compartment. “Min Yoongi. Where’s the kid?”_
> 
> _He shrugged, mouth a perpetual pout. His sakura-pink bangs fell into his eyes as Yoongi threw himself onto the seat opposite hers, limbs doing an impressive impression of a jelly._
> 
> _“Dunno. Not his caretaker… why the fuck am I supposed to know where he is?”_
> 
> _“Stop slouching, you’ll hurt your back.” Sera sighed. “I thought you were supposed to pick him up and come to London together? Wasn’t that the arrangement? I mean, because his parents are muggles…”_
> 
> _“You definitely have me mixed-up with someone else. Can you imagine me picking up people like strays?”_
> 
> _“You did not just call the kid a stray!”_
> 
> _“I did, but just to illustrate a fact so I don’t think he’d mind very much.”_
> 
> _“He won’t mind anything much if it’s from you. Kid hero-worships you. Worships the ground you walk on, like some deity.”_
> 
> _Yoongi smirked. “Perks of being a Min. We’re inherently hip and cool. You should try it one day.”_
> 
> _“Be a Min? I’d have to marry you, Yoongi.”_
> 
> _“That can be arranged.” Yoongi snorted. “I never knew you were interested in having sex with me, Sera.”_
> 
> _“Oh, gross, hyung, I just had a mental image.”_
> 
> _“Serves you right for eavesdropping, pervert.” Yoongi snorted, still cosplaying a jelly even as Namjoon moved from the door to the seat next to him._
> 
> _“It’s not my fault.” Namjoon whined, his gangly limbs were just everywhere. “The door was open. How was I to know you guys were plotting to do the dirty?”_
> 
> _“No one is copulating, Good God, stop thinking with your gonads. Yoongi was just trying to rile me up.”_
> 
> _“There is a thin line between love and hate, noona. Very thin line. And what’s with the big words? Stop trying to sound so Ravenclaw-ish. It's annoying.”_
> 
> _“Shut up. Is the kid supposed to be with you?”_
> 
> _“Naww. He’s being dragged along by Hobi and Jin hyung. Our parents decided it was best for me to head straight for the Hogwarts Express from home. Minimizing unplanned events and all.”_
> 
> _“If your definition of unplanned events is losing your luggage cart and misplacing your wand and missing the train, then yes, your parents made the most brilliant decision ever.”_
> 
> _“It was one time, noona, one time!”_
> 
> _“One time your parents know of, Joon-ah. If they knew the number of times you’ve almost missed the train… the boats… the carriages…” Yoongi drawled._
> 
> _As if on cue, there was a flurry of activity on the platform as a loud voice suddenly boomed._
> 
> _“ALL ABOARD!”_
> 
> _“Wow. They’re actually gonna miss the train.”_
> 
> _“Relax, worrywart.” Yoongi closed his eyes and snuggled into the neck pillow he’d draped on. “They’ll make it. Have faith.”_
> 
> _There were slamming of doors and loud footsteps as the train slowly inched forward. A loud yelp in a familiar voice was drowned in a multitude of other voices._
> 
> _Yoongi didn’t even move as the compartment door slid open and Seokjin held on to its frame, looking tousled as two bodies barrelled into him. Namjoon visibly flinched._
> 
> _“And you were worried.”_
> 
> _“Almost… missed the train.” Seokjin gasped as he staggered into the compartment and snuggled up to Sera. Sera couldn’t help the blush. “Hoseok insisted on ginger ale.”_
> 
> _“I was thirsty!” came the voice that yelped earlier. Hoseok had picked himself up and was dragging a smaller figure in through the door. “Totally lost track of time just chilling in a café.”_
> 
> _“Now imagine how potentially disastrous that could be if Namjoonie was with you.”_
> 
> _“Ouch, noona!”_
> 
> _Yoongi snorted, finally stirring. He shared a small smile with Sera before fixing his gaze on the smaller figure. “You okay, kid? These flighty hyungs didn’t try to lose you in London, did they?”_
> 
> _“Excuse us!” Seokjin piped up indignantly. “We’d never, okay!”_
> 
> _Sera chuckled as she patted Seokjin’s arm and her eyes travelled towards the youngest boy. She took in his tan Timberlands and frayed at the cuffs black jeans and up to his face-_

 

Gasping, Sera sat straight up on the couch, eyes wide open. She took in big gulps of air, trying to put her world back in order. She glanced down. The 4 men were fast asleep on the floor, tangled in blankets and pillows. A Snore-Away device was floating right above Namjoon’s head. The tv was still on, its volume on the lowest setting, some daily drama re-run was on.

It’s the same. It’s always the same. She always wakes up when the dream takes her to him. To what he looked like, sounded like.

His name.

She knew what he looked like… didn’t she? What he sounded like?

Could she trust her memories of him?

Is that why she’s always jolted awake before he fully materializes in her dreams? Because her memories of him were unreliable?

They never forgot him. They just… his name never came up. In all these years, somehow, they gradually stopped talking about him. It was weird, but no one commented on it.

Unnaturally weird.

Ravenclaw scarf. A fucking Ravenclaw scarf.

Sera sighed, and fell back unto the couch. She wasn’t stupid. Wasn’t that oblivious. She could feel it – a small trickling of power whenever she thought of him. He did something. Or someone did something. It was ridiculous that the combined clout of The Mins of Seoul and the resources of The Emporium couldn’t find one man. One muggle-born wizard with no magical relatives.

Sera inhaled and exhaled. She regulated her breathing. In, and out. In, and out.

She could hear the low murmurs from the tv. The ticking of the clock on the table. The muted sounds of Namjoon’s snores that wasn’t quite captured by the Snore-Away. The quiet whirring of the refrigerator.

She listened to her heart beat. A steady pace. A dependable pace. At peace. Not frantic.

His name. Surely she could remember his name?

Concentrate, Sera. If ever there was a time you should try this, it’s now. October.

 

> _Hogwarts Express. The conductor yelling ‘all aboard’ and sounds of students scrambling. Yoongi was yawning, his minty cologne so strong it pretty much overpowered her senses._
> 
> _“You okay, kid? These flighty hyungs didn’t try to lose you in London, did they?”_
> 
> _Her eyes travelled up tan Timberland boots and black jeans and-_
> 
>  
> 
> _A shift._
> 
>  
> 
> _“Sitting with us Slytherins again, Sera?” the Slytherin prefect was smiling down at her. The sounds of the Great Hall was muted. Students were sitting in groups, studying. Sera looked down. Her robes were sweeping the floor. She’d need to get them altered._
> 
> _“Yes, with Yoongi and the others.”_
> 
> _“You guys are always together. Oh look, that bunny kid is trying to catch your attention. What’s his name again? Oh, right, it’s-”_
> 
> _Sera whirled around._
> 
>  
> 
> _Another shift. The ring on her finger tingled._
> 
>  
> 
> _They were on the grass, by the lake. The sun was shining. Namjoon and Seokjin were trading acrostic poems. Yoongi was trying to catch grapes using his mouth. Hoseok was literally rolling around laughing._
> 
> _Seokjin’s responses were getting more and more nonsensical._
> 
> _There was someone next to her. He laughed, a soft tinkling giggle at first, then graduated into an evil cackle. His body bumped into her every time he shook with laughter. It made her feel warm. Like being enveloped in soft, fluffy blankets._
> 
> _Sera’s ring tingled. The sensation was stronger. It was almost – almost – painful._
> 
> _“Hyung, your poems are ridiculous.” Yoongi drawled out lazily. His hair was minty green._
> 
> _“Yah, you think you can do better?” Seokjin sputtered. “I’d like to see you try. You too, Sera. Don’t think I don’t see you smirking.” Seokjin pointed to the person next to her. “And you, are you laughing at me-”_
> 
> _She turned to look the boy next to her and…_
> 
>  
> 
> _Shift._
> 
>  
> 
> _The world was white. Seokjin, Yoongi, Namjoon and Hoseok were walking ahead, fooling about. Hoseok had pushed Seokjin, and the older boy grappled at the air before toppling over into the snow. Their hoots of laughter was interspersed with Seokjin’s indignant blustering._
> 
> _It was cold._
> 
> _Sera looked down at her gloveless hands._
> 
> _“Noona?” a soft voice interrupted her thoughts._
> 
> _There. There. That impulse to shift again._
> 
> _No!_
> 
> _Not this time. I'm staying. I'm staying._
> 
> _Focus, Sera. Stay in this moment._
> 
> _Her ring wasn’t tingling anymore. It was buzzing. And it hurt. Sera knew… this time, it’ll be different. No more shifts. This time… she’ll remember. Just had to ignore the pain. Just had to focus, dammit._
> 
> _“Noona? Why aren’t you wearing your gloves?” that soft voice inquired. Warm hands grabbed hers, and the gloves she was holding. Confidently, the boy put them on her. Her fingers were beginning to stop acting like icicles._
> 
> _She looked up. He was beginning to tower over her. They used to be about the same height, she remembered. He was such a tiny little baby when she first met him, looking lost in the corridors of Hogwarts, his eyes taking up half his face, widened with fear._
> 
> _His brow was currently furrowed in concentration. His nose twitched._
> 
> _He wasn't such a tiny little baby anymore._
> 
> _“There you go, Song Sera-ssi, all warm and toasty.” He grinned at her, still holding her hand. His big doe eyes twinkled._
> 
> _Sera’s heart ached._
> 
> _His name. She knew his name. How could she ever forget his name?_
> 
> _This boy. This boy who made her feel all warm whenever he was around. Who reminded her of fluffy blankets and hot chocolate on rainy days._
> 
> _She reached out and gently patted his cheek. That bunny smile of his got wider._
> 
> _“Thank you, Jeon Jungkook.”_

Outside of sleep, Sera shifted on the couch. The ring had stopped hurting, stopped tingling. It returned to being a simple ring.

Sera sighed in her sleep.

“Jeon Jungkook.”

The whispered name became like a small breeze. It floated above the sleeping group, past Namjoon’s Snore-Away and Yoongi shifting in his sleep. It skirted past Hoseok burrowing deeper into his blanket, and Seokjin, whose elbow was dangerously close to Namjoon’s face. It floated out the bathroom window that Sera kept open for Yoongi, past the wards, away from the apartment building, above the houses where all the humans – magical and muggle – were sleeping in. It travelled all the way across town, down the subway station, into the tunnels. It floated down dark, forgotten side-tunnels, until it came to a figure, surrounded by wards, cocooned in simulated warmth and a simple sleeping bag. The figure murmured in his sleep, frowning, struggling a little against the confining sleeping bag.

The whispered name – now a slight breeze – settled upon the young man, like a caress upon his face. Instantly his frown disappeared, and he sighed in his sleep.

“Jeon Jungkook.” The whispered name had found its owner.

The young man stirred, rising from sleep. He sat up, looked around him and shivered. His clothes were thin, too thin for the temperature drop as summer turned into fall. He rubbed his eyes violently, his eyes itching from being dry and rhinitis.

 

> _“Don’t do that, Kookie, you’ll ruin your eyesight.”_
> 
>  

He stilled. He was suddenly reminded of why he woke up from his sleep in the first place. His charm was broken. Someone remembered his name.

Unbidden, a memory played out in his head.

 

> _“Don’t do that, Kookie, you’ll ruin your eyesight.” She reprimanded, holding his wrist. She smiled, pressing a bottle of eyedrops into his hand._
> 
> _"Eyedrops? Don't we have a magical solution for itchy eyes?"_
> 
> _She shook her head. " Not everything needs to be solved by magic, Kook. Sometimes, the most simple solution is the best solution."_

 

Jeon Jungkook hit his head against the tunnel wall.

Oh no...

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is what happens when life gets in the way of updating. Oops, sorry.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow you made it. Congrats. 
> 
> It's been a long time since I've written or published anything, and definitely a first time on ao3. Did write some stuff but they got stuck on my laptop, never seeing the light of day. Had this swirling around in my head for a couple of years now, and decided to just put it out there. It's nonsense, probably riddled with plot holes, who knows if it'll ever reach a conclusion, but at least it is done running wild in my head. Ha. This didn't need as much revision as the ones I started in 2013, let me tell you that.
> 
> Anyway, I write at a snail's pace, so updates will probably take a very long time. If ever. You have been forewarned.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
